CM MK Stalin: Set up Supreme Court bench in Chennai, allow Tamil in high court

CHENNAI: Chief minister M K Stalin on Saturday reiterated his demand for establishing a Supreme Court bench in Chennai and allowing Tamil to be practised in the Madras high court.
At the 25th anniversary celebrations of the State Human Rights Commission (SHRC), Stalin said, "I placed these demands earlier at an event where the Chief Justice of India was a participant. I make the same requests again at this event, where justices have been invited as guests, as a reminder for the benefit of people and lawyers here."
The CM said vacancies in the SHRC would be filled. The demand for recruiting more police personnel will be fulfilled after a review, he said.
SHRC was set up in 1997 in Tamil Nadu though there had been talks about it since 1993. "When it comes to safeguarding human rights, we have always been very careful. The ultimate aspect of the Constitution itself is human rights - be it freedom of speech and expression, right to equality, right to gather, right to business, religious rights, right to education, property rights and right to justice. It is all the governments' responsibility to ensure safeguard these rights, and I pledge we will never fail on these aspects. Ours is a government of social justice," he said.
Supreme Court Judge Sanjay Kishan Kaul said education has was the tool of empowerment. "In respect of the rights of women, education is the first thing that can empower women, followed by an equal opportunity in family properties. In judiciary, one-third of judicial officers are women, not through any reservation but by their own qualifications. The Madras high court has the most number of women compared to the courts across the country," he said.
He said SHRC stands between the individual and the state and is empowered to act in a manner which the judiciary sometimes cannot. "It is in a unique position to work with civil society. It can take suo motu cognisance of human rights violations," he said.